Trunk.



No. 680,892. Patented Aug. 20, |901. W. M. SNAIL & W. M. DOUGHERTY.

TRUNK (Application led Dec. 15. 1900.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet Win23 L Noam- M'. Ric/'z afd Roe,

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TRUNK.

(Application filed Dec. 15, 1900.) (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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WILLIAM M. SNAIL AND VVlLLIAM Inl. DOUGl-IERTY, OF HT. JOSEPH,

MISSOURI.

TRUNK..

SPEGIFEOATEON forming part of Letters Eatent No. 680,892, dated August 20, 1901. Application lcd December 15, 1900. Serial No. 39,997. (No model To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM M. SNAIL and WILLIAM M. DOUGHERTY, citizens of the United States of America, and residents of St. Joseph, in the county of Buchanan and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trunks, of which the following is a specification.

-Our invention relates to an improvement in trunks, and more particularly to a changeable shipping-label therefor, the object being to provide a number of addresses, so that they may be shown in prearranged order, and the trunk or receptacle thus provided sent by express or freight to these different addresses in the order arranged.

The device is particularly applicable for shipping trunks of samples by express or freight to a number of iirms in different towns,the addresses of which firms have been previously written and arranged on a strip of cloth or other suitable iiexible material inv the order in which the towns have to be made, and it is so constructed that a customer who is lthrough with the samples can address them to the next customer by disclosing a new address in a manner hereinafter described. In this way the mistakes and annoyance result- 1 ing from their preparation by the customer is obviated, all the addresses having been prepared and arranged at the start bythe one sending the samples. Thus the trunk makes its round and back to its startingpoint, accompanied by an expcuse-bill of the express or freight company.

l/Vith the foregoing objects in view our invention consists in a trunk or similar receptacle provided on its interior with means for exhibiting a prearranged series of stopping' points visible from the outside of the trunk or receptacle and capable of change and manipulation from the interior of the trunk or receptacle exclusively, whereby accidental or surreptitious change of address to an unauthorized person `not having a key to the trunk is absolutely prevented, and the predetermined destination is invariably reached without trouble or danger of mistake on the part of the last shipper.

Our invention further consists in certain novel features of construction and combinan tions of parts, which will be hereinafter described,and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a View in side elevation, the trunk-lid being shown in section. Fig. 2 is a view in front elevation showing a section through the lid at right angles to that indicated in Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a view in transverse section. y Fig. 4 is a plan view, and Fig. 5 is a view of the invention in the form of a trunk.

A represents a trunk or similar receptacle having our improved label-holder applied thereto. In the lid or elsewhere an opening l of suitable size is formed, and over this mica, celluloid, or other suitable transparent material, through which the addresses can be read, is placed, it being held by a suitable frame 2, screwed or otherwise secured over its edges to hold it in place. This transparent material serves as a window, making what it covers visible to the eye and at the saine time protecting it from dust and water and preventing the latter from entrance to the trunk. Beneath this opening a box B is secured byline-ans of suit-able brackets 3 3 or equivalent means to the inner surface of the trunk. This box is open at the bottom and partly open at the top and closed at the four sides, as indicated in the drawings. Two sets of rollers are journaled in this box, the upper pair preferably solid and immediately below the transparent window. These are indicated by the letters C C. The other pair are preferably hollow and indicated by the letters D D. The rollers D D are journaled in the sides of the box and provided with a slit el on the side. A strip of flexible material G, of cloth or paper, it may be, is wound at its ends upon these rollers D D and carried over the rollers C C, where it is supported by a filling-block E between the rollers C-C. On this strip the various addresses are written, printed, or otherwise indicated in a prearranged order at suitable intervals, so that a single revolution or approximately one revolution of the rollers D will bring a new address into View from the exterior of the trunk. Of course it is understood that one roller D winds while the other unwinds. As a means for preventing these rollers from turning too rapidly or in the wrong direction. various IOO mechanisms might be adopted. We haveV shown, however, wheels E and E" secured, respectively, to the outer ends of hollow rollers D D, and upon the peripheries of these rollers a spring F bears, thus affording a brake to prevent their turning too freely,`

and as a means for preventing backwardv movementof these wheels E and E" with the rollers to which they are attached notches e e are formed in the peripheries of these two wheels, into which the spring F drops with each revolution. The spring F may be secured to a pivoted arm Gr, and this arm carries a screw L, by which the spring is held in position, and when the rollers are to be reversed to set the strip at the starting-point the arm and spring are swung as indicated in dotted lines, thus unlocking the wheels E and E. A keyl maybe employed to turn the rollers in one direction, and a suitableinstrument may be inserted in the hole K in the wheel E" to turn the rollers back for resetting when occasion may require.

As a simple means for securing the strip to n the hollow rollers the extreme ends are folded over and inserted in the slits 4 in the hollow rollers D D and a rod O is run into the loop thus formed, and to facilitate this assembling of parts the side'of the box is pro- 4 vided with slots N N, running from the bearings of the hollow rollers to the edges of the box, so that the doubled ends of the strip G vmay the more readily be slipped into the slits f 4 in the hollow rollers.

From the foregoing it will be seen thatY while the addresses are visible to the eye from the outside, yet all of the operating mechanism is concealed and secured within the trunk and cannot be changed without first having access to the trunk, so that the trunk-lock aords security at the same time against tampering with the labels. tions to which the trunk is tobe shipped in order are arranged in corresponding orderupon the strip, and the latter is drawn forward upon one hollow roller and from the other by a rotation of the roller lsufficient to expose the succeeding address, and when re- 1 setting is necessary the spring is unfastened l. A trunk or other shipping-receptacle,

provided with a movable shipping tag or label containing a series of prearranged addresses and so constructed and arranged that its operating mechanism is wholly within the 1 The various statrunk or receptacle, whereby unauthorized or surreptitious changing of the tag or label is prevented without rst having had access to the interior.

2. A trunk having an opening therethrough, transparent means for covering this opening, rollers located within the trunk, a flexible strip removably connected with and carried over the rollers and means for applying friction to, and locking the rollers against reverse movement.

3. A trunk having an opening therein, a box containing a series of rollers, a flexible strip carried upon said rollers, across the opening 'in the trunk and means within the trunk for applying friction to the rollers and locking them against reverse movement.

4. A trunk having an opening therein, a box secured beneath the opening, rollers journaled in the box, a flexible strip carried over the rollers and means within the trunk for turning the rollers, applying friction thereto and locking them against reverse movement.

5. A trunk having an opening therein, rollers within the trunkand adjacent to the opening and a strip lcarried by the rollers and containing va-rious addresses in prearranged order and means within the trunk for turning the rollers and exhibiting said prearranged addresses successively.

6. The combination with a shipping-case having solid and hollow rollers j ournaled therein, said hollow rollers having longitudinal slits therein and the box having open slots leading from the hollow rollers to the edge-of the box, of a ilexible strip containing addresses, the ends of the strip doubled together, a rod passed into this doubled portion for locking the ends of the strip in the rollers, the slots in the box being designed to facili tate this assemblage of parts.

7. The combination with a shipping-case and rollers journaled therein, said rollers hav- Iing notched wheels thereon, of a iiexible strip carried over the rollers and containing addresses thereon in prearranged order, of a locking device adapted to simultaneously enter notches in the two wheels to lock the rollers against reverse movement and to bear on the peripheries of said wheels to prevent too great freedom of movement when turning forward, and means for releasing said .locking device.

8. A shipping-case having an address-sheet `inclosed therein adapted to bear a series of WILLIAM M. SNAIL. WILLIAM M. DOUGHERTY.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM C. Gow, W. C. PLowMAN.

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